Disregarding Blood
by Modified-Memories
Summary: "Drop your wands." Bellatrix whispered. "Drop them, or we'll see exactly how filthy her blood is." As the wizards were hesitating dropping their wands, they froze as they watched Draco Malfoy step forward. "Let her go." He spat, heaving with gasps, his wand arm shaking. Harry and the others in the room stared wide eyed as Draco advanced on his aunt.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N : Ah, well, my first story. It's set during Deathly Hallows and is in cannon with the previous books up until Malfoy Manor (Ignoring Ron and Hermione's relationship, sorry!) There are a few lines from Deathly Hallows here and there. To get the plot started.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own shit.**

**Chapter 1: Malfoy Manor**

"STOP OR SHE DIES!" Panting, Harry peered round the edge of the sofa. Bellatrix was supporting Hermione, who seemed to be unconscious and was holding her short silver knife to Hermione's throat.  
"Drop your wands." Bellatrix whispered. "Drop them, or we'll see exactly how filthy her blood is!" As the wizards were hesitating dropping their wands, they froze as they watched Draco Malfoy step forward.  
"Let her go." He spat, heaving with gasps, his wand arm shaking. Harry and the others in the room stared wide eyed as Draco advanced on his aunt, his steps becoming more confident.

"You...YOU FILTHY BLOOD TRAITOR!" Bellatrix screeched, "Malfoy, you're not a damn Malfoy. Didn't I say Lucius? DIDN'T I?" Lucius stared at his heir with hate and stalked towards him, ready to attack. Draco ignored it, standing tall only slightly shaking as he stood in front of the witch. If he was going to die, he was not going to be a little bitch about it. He was going to go down with a fight. Hermione glanced up blinking, seeing the pale haired boy protecting her, she shook her head at him as if to tell him to give up.  
"Draco, stop this at once." Lucius spat, glaring at his son. Draco paid him no heed, still pointing his wand at his own flesh and blood. It was then that Draco truly felt the worst rage in his life. He watched as Hermione's blood seeped slowly out of the wound Bellatrix was causing at her neck and snapped. He shook and his magic exploded around him, shards of glass in the pristine manor shattered around him, marring his skin. Each shard of glass hitting him felt like another stab to his heart as he set eyes on Hermione.

He was about to shoot a hex a time at Bellatrix.. "I SAID LET G-" then all the movement stopped as every pair of eyes in the room looked up as the crystal chandelier trembled and began to fall. Bellatrix screamed and jumped out the way, dropping Hermione in the process. As the chandelier collapsed around and on Hermione, Draco charged forward pulling her out the wreckage and throwing her at Ron.  
"TAKE HER AND GO!" He screamed, stupifying Greyback and then battling his father. Bellatrix then discovered it was Dobby who had been the cause. Draco watched as she screamed and yelled harsh cruel words, none of them making sense in his jumbled mind, Draco grunted as Lucius threw a dark curse at him which sliced him on his side. Using all his determination he disarmed his father and hunched over in pain. He registered the fact that Potter was getting away and watched with a grim smile. He locked eyes with him and nodded to the raven haired boy. Draco had already accepted his death. Defying his aunt instantly sentenced his life, he lost his chances of living as soon as he spoke the words to protect Hermione. He glanced one last time at Granger and willed that him risking his life was not just for nothing. Harry concentrated on the place he wanted to be, Bill and Fluer's Shell cottage and watched as the world span, seeing flashes of the dark manor room and the hair of his friends. He watched as Draco was struck with a dark curse and flew towards them, he barely registered Bellatrix's knife as it flew across the room hurtling to them also. Harry grunted as he felt the impact of Draco hitting his side and he clutched Dobby's hand tightly concentrating on the cottage and begging it would work.

There was a collision of limbs and grunts of pain as all the wizards, witch, goblin and house elf untangled themselves. Draco watched Harry grasping at Dobby, crying for help as his House Elf and loyal friend's life slowly slipped away from him. Harry's howls of fury and despair made it hard to hear the running sound of Fleur, Bill, Dean and Luna's feet closing around them. He wanted to scream at them, they should of just let him die. Let him rot. He didn't belong with them. He wasn't a bloody saint, he was tainted. Tainted by dark magic, it ran through his blood for Salazar's sake.

_Oh Gods_, Draco thought, clutching at his most painful wound, a deep cut in his side caused by Lucius's curse. Draco knew why he saved Hermione. He knew why he saved Potter and his friends. It was for her. Draco had been hiding a secret from his family, from his so called 'Dark Lord' and it was about time it came out. The chaos around Draco dissipated as all he could focus on was the burning sensation in his forearm where the dark mark stood against his pale skin. He released, raw, blood curdling screams and clutched his limb, writhing on the sand. He felt a cool hand on his forehead and Harry asking if Hermione was safe and getting help. Potter's attention was strictly on Malfoy and not on his bushy haired friend once he heard his cries of agony.

"Oh shit, Malfoy."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ah! Finally finished this. Hope you enjoy and begin to understand Draco's inner turmoils :)**

**Chapter 2: Sodding Granger, that's who!**

Draco opened his eyes, blinking rapidly. He stared upwards at the grey stone ceiling and took a deep breath, turning his head to the right to see what he would describe as an atrocious sight.  
"Malfoy." Harry said, "I'm... glad to see you awake." Draco jumped in shock just by the sight of Potter and his irritatingly annoying voice. It's not every day that a Malfoy gets struck by a dark curse by their own damn father and wake up to find themselves in the company of their childhood enemy no less. Draco's eyes shifted around the room quickly as he took in his surroundings. He was in a light room with oak wood floors, there was a large window that looked out to the beach and to the right of that was a simple wardrobe.  
"I got caught in the apparation didn't I?" He spoke bluntly.  
"Yes. You did. That's not the point Malfoy. Why did you do it?"  
"Do what Potter, wha-?"  
"You know what!" Potter hissed, interrupting Malfoy.  
"I don't believe I do." He retorted. Enjoying winding up the boy.  
"Bloody hell, you'd think you'd have matured after all this time Malfoy. But once again, you've proved me wrong. Do I have to bring Veritaserum to get the answer out of you? Or will you tell me why you saved Hermione?"

Draco glanced at the dark mark on his arm. Seeing the jet black colour now slightly faded made him feel less disgusted by the fact he had actually pledged his loyalty to a dark lord who was the biggest mistake ever. A half-blood who expects the wizarding world to be all pure-blooded...really? He gulped as he realised what he'd done. By saving Potters band of merry do-gooders, he had essentially disowned his family. Wave bye bye to the 30 million Galleon inheritance Draco, because you're not a Malfoy any more! No money, no home - not that he would call the Manor a home anyway. Nothing. He was buggered. The only possession he had was his wand...

"POTTER! Give. Me. My. Wand." Draco pronounced each word slowly, and jumped up from the bed he had been lying on, holding the palm of his hand out expectantly. Draco smirked as Harry handed over his wand, but then stiffened as Potters wand was raised at him, instantly Draco raised his back.  
"Now Draco, I can easily disarm you, as we've seen before. I gave you your wand to make you feel more comfortable. Now, will you _please_ shed some light as to why you saved Hermione?"  
"Granger, is she...is she safe?" Draco asked, avoiding the previous question. "Yes, thanks to you. I guess." Harry responded. Peering at him carefully, making Draco feel very cautious.

"I saved Granger because she's _sodding _Granger, that's who!" Draco started frantically pacing around the room, "You wouldn't understand! Perfect Potter! You had no idea what was going on right underneath your damn heroic nose! We were...together." Draco spared a harsh glance at Harry and saw his pale face in shock, before he could reply Draco was straight back to his agitated rant.  
"Sixth Year. The year of my task. I told her... I told her I loved her. To forgive me just before I had to kill Dumbledore. Then she..." Draco stopped and look Potter dead in the eye. Moving closer towards him until he stood over the shorter boy at what he hoped in his frenzied state at least looked threatening.  
"She ran. Said all kinds of bollocks and ran! Is it obvious enough for you Potter? Do I have to spell it out for you. I couldn't watch her die, because in that dark period of my life where I was forced to do a task I didn't want to do. She was my light."

Draco could remember the day of Dumbledore's death as if it was just happening.

"_Draco, you look terribly ill, I wish you would tell me what is happening with you." She asked, biting her lip worryingly. Draco wrapped his arms around his gryffindor and smiled. Inhaling her scented shampoo from her curls he wished he could stay like this forever.  
"Granger, I have something to tell you." Draco murmured into her hair.  
"Oh um, well tell me? Wait - is it bad?" Hermione lifted her head and gazed at his silver eyes, she peppered his face with small kisses and then kissed his mouth for a few moments. Draco returned the kiss, but pulled away first. Cupping both her cheeks he looked straight at her. Taking a deep breath to calm himself he admitted to his girlfriend how he truly felt about her._

_"I love you." He smiled widely. It was the best feeling. The relief of finally admitting his feelings that he had been keeping bottled up inside him for weeks. The love he had for Hermione crept up on him like a vine, tightening around his body until he felt like he would explode if he did not tell her. Draco couldn't fathom how he hadn't said this earlier, expressing his love for his witch felt amazing. His expression of pure happiness faltered as he realised she only stared at him wide-eyed. Her mouth opened slightly in shock.  
"Draco. You don't love me. We can't love each other! We are fighting for different sides. I can't raise my wand at you in a battle and watch you fall while loving you. Not that I would do that anyway, but you know what I mean! It won't work Draco. Draco, are you even listening to me?" He had heard enough. He was being rejected. He clutched at his chest where beneath, his heart lied and there was an unsettling feeling clawing at him. Is this what having your heart broken feels like?_

_"It's true Granger, I do. I need you to forgive me right now. Something is going to happen tonight. I can't prevent it. I told you about my task, do you remember? I want you to know that I love you. I love you so much and I wish I could've told you earlier than today. We are so imperfect that it makes it perfect. We come from different worlds, my parents loathe everything about you and have raised me to also. But I don't care. I don't care about your blood. I am disregarding blood from this whole fucked up equation. I need you to tell me you love me too and when this war is over we'll be together." Draco rushed out, shaking her lightly, his mind was racing with thoughts._

_"This is what I mean Draco, you can't possibly love me. You're a Death Eater, I've tried to overlook it, I really have." Hermione's tears trailed down her face each one felt like a punch to his gut, "Yet I can't. I'm sorry. I don't love you, I can't love you." She choked on her sobs and began to back away from him. Draco turned quickly. Hiding his hurt expression from her.  
"If that's how you feel Granger, then there's nothing I can do. Goodbye." He heard the door of the room of requirement slam shut and he rubbed his face roughly. He was broken, she had shattered him. Ripped him to shreds just with her words and daring to deny her love for him. Is that what he got? For loving a mudblood? Of course he didn't believe in that shit but at the moment, he wasn't thinking very rationally. After standing still and torturing himself for an hour with his thoughts in the cold cluttered Room Of Requirement, Draco slowly opened the door of the vanishing cabinet he had fixed and watched as Voldemort's followers filed out. Bellatrix grinned at him, exposing her yellowing disgusting teeth and placed a kiss on his cheek._

_"Well done, Draco." She cooed. As they terrorized the Order, Draco walked up the steps of the tower, each one another step towards doom. He disarmed Dumbledore. He couldn't kill him. He imagined him having to raise his own wand at Granger. Snape saved him from speaking the words of death and he watched as Dumbledore fell off the edge of the tower. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. He chanted in his head as Snape grabbed him roughly by his collar and threw him out the door._

"Come with me Malfoy." Potter's voice pulled him out of his memories. Draco nodded and followed Harry out of the room. Harry pushed open another door of the cottage and the room looked almost as similar as the one Draco had woken up in. Draco's breath hitched in his throat as he saw Hermione lying on the bed sleeping and covered in bandages, his heart broke as he saw what was engraved into her arm by his pathetic excuse of an aunt - **'Mudblood.' **Draco instantly ran to her side. Gently touching her face, wiping away a few stray pieces of dirt he whispered apologies over and over. He hadn't touched her in so long, he'd missed her so much. Harry watched Draco carefully, he could tell the ferret loved her. There was no doubt about it. But that didn't mean he was okay with it.

Hermione shifted slightly in the bed as she felt a touch, she sighed in content, this touch felt eerily familiar and she'd dare say she'd missed it. Her eyes opened slowly and she stared up at who was caressing her in disbelief, "Draco?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I just want to say thank you to each review I have gotten and the favourites and the follows. I really appreciate it and I am glad you enjoy my story. I want to dedicate this chapter to a friend of mine at school, who basically is my reason for getting into fanfiction in the first place. So, well, let's see how those two silly teens are doing.**

**Chapter 3: These scars won't heal clear.**

It must be a wonderful dream. Hermione thought as she gazed at Draco, he looked exactly as she remembered. The same pointed nose, sleek white-blonde hair. She lifted her arms and trailed her fingers across his high cheekbones moving them down to his pointed chin. Finally she raised her eyes to look right into his grey orbs. She was mesmerized. So many memories flooded and rushed in her head. Their first kiss where Draco had been shocked as she pulled him into an abandoned hallway in Hogwarts and practically ravished him. The moment where Draco had admitted he liked her. All these memories were smothering her and finally she remembered when she had last seen him, running out the Room of Requirement and slamming the door.

"I've missed you." She murmured, removing her hands from his face.  
"I'm here. It's me." He smiled sadly down at her, "I've missed you too."

"Oh Godric. Is this real?" Hermione asked, confused. Her eyes wondered around the room and noticed Harry at the door and raised her hand to cover her mouth in shock. She remembered what had happened at Malfoy's home, he had saved her.  
"Why did you do it, Draco?" Hermione spoke quietly. Not wanting Harry to overhear.  
"You know why." He responded. Hermione tried to make sense of the situation in her brain. He still loved her. After what she had said to him, he still loved her. Hermione felt very uncomfortable and decided to attempt to sit up, attempt being the right word. As soon as she tried to sit up, she moaned in pain and flopped uselessly back onto the bed. Her whole body ached from Bellatrix's torture, she prided herself on the fact she was a talented individual witch who could be strong, yet she was so vulnerable right now, physically and emotionally.

"Hermione," Harry interrupted, walking to her bedside and causing Draco to stand towards the wall away from her, "I'm glad you're awake." Hermione  
accepted Harry's warm embrace and buried her face in his neck. Draco watched on enviously, wishing her could embrace her like that. Keep her close and be able to just be with her.

"Is everyone ok?" Hermione sniffed, "Harry, did we all make it back?"  
Harry's facial expression dropped and Hermione prepared herself for the worse, please, please, no one be hurt that badly. "Everyone's here, Ron, you and I"  
Hermione let out a sigh of relief, "Dobby, he got hit by Bellatrix's dagger. He di- didn't make it."  
"Oh Harry, I'm sorry." She cried, she knew how close Harry was with Dobby and her heart ached for him. She, spending many days in the school kitchens trying to convince the House Elves they deserved a better life, would say she was close with him also. He was a precious little thing that brought many days of joy to the Golden Trio and his death was cruel. He didn't deserve to be taken away from them, but yet again, he was another victim of the war and an example of how it was tearing them all apart. Death upon death...when would this nightmare end?

"I'm going to leave you both to talk..." Harry extracted himself from her arms and shuffled awkwardly to the door, just before he was about to leave he turned, "'Mione, Ron and the others will want to see you when I tell them you are awake. I'll tell them at lunch." Hermione simply nodded in reply. The sound of the door closing caused Hermione to flinch. She was left in the room with Draco alone, the silence was excruciating.

"How could you be so foolish?!" Draco burst, unable to hold back any longer.  
"Excuse me?" Hermione spluttered. "How could you even-"  
"You heard me!" Draco growled, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it was? You were caught! How could you  
be so careless?" He placed his arms by either side of her head and bent forward, "You were about to be killed!"

"We're in a WAR Draco! Don't you pin this on me as if it's my fault. I'd rather spit in the face of Voldemort and die by his disgusting hands, then sit back and watch people like me suffer. They can't help what blood they were born into, why should they live in a world where they are mistreated due to their heritage. It's sick and vile! We may have made some mistakes last night, but I'd hate myself if I didn't help in any way I can to prevent the destruction of this world. A world I only found out existed when I was 11, but a world that I have grown to love and to cherish." Hermione shrieked, wishing she wasn't restrained by her injuries to her bed so she could inflict some on him!

"You naive bint! You were tortured and beaten and you still believe in the outcome of this war in your favour? I've lived in a house with that monster. He is powerful beyond three seventh year students. He'll crush you and all your loved ones. He's ruthless, the purest form of evil there is. I watched him kill Burbage on a table and feed her to his bloody snake, the sick bastard enjoyed every minute of my discomfort and Godric knows I'm thankful Snape taught me Occulumency or he would of definitely killed me right there. You can't expect the Golden Trio to just waltz in a kill him...you'll _die._" Draco's words angered Hermione to no end.

"You simple minded prat! Do you expect me to do nothing while I watch as innocents are killed? Look at me! I'm a _mudblood!_" She gestured widely at the scar in her arm, the harsh letters crusting over in an nauseating way. "This won't heal clear Draco! But it reminds me of who I am and it's going to remind me each time I look down at it how I'm damn proud to be a mudblood! I'm proud of standing up for what I believe in and I want to bring that foul venomous man to his well-deserved death!"

Her blood was boiling, her hair was wild, bushy, untamed and to Draco she was beautiful as he gazed upon her frame. Suddenly he pulled up his left sleeve and rested his tainted forearm next to hers. She stared at the dark skull, the snake protruding from it's mouth. Hermione raised her eyes to him and found him to be closer then she thought, their noses were almost touching. "This is what makes me the weak one," He trailed his fingers around the snake's length and Hermione's breath hitched as he placed that same forefinger to her scar, gently tracing the words, "Yet this one, shows how you are the brave one. You're not afraid of what people think of you Granger, you are defiant, if Scar-Face is to bring down Voldemort. He'd be nowhere without you."

Draco was conflicted. His emotions were going haywire, a part of him wanted to roar and rage at Granger, ask why she just left him, not able to let go of the past. However, there was another side of him that wanted to kiss her. He'd missed the feeling of her lips on his, they may of argued and challenged each other in games of wit but she brought out a side of him that drove him wild. Why was he conflicted? Draco realised it was due to the fact he couldn't help but feel betrayed by her. He admitted his feelings to her and she brushed them off, he saved her life because he was still in love with her. He wished he could hate her, hate her with every fibre of his being...he couldn't. Draco Malfoy's only wish was that she returned his feelings, throughout his life he had a void that was left empty waiting to be filled by someone who truly understood him. Hermione Granger was the filling in that void, once she walked out on him, he was left bare. Bare and exposed to pain worse than he felt when he received his dark mark, it crippled him to the point he wanted to end himself. He loved Hermione Granger with all his being. The only question he asked himself was: Why did loving her be the cause of his pain?

Hermione pulled him out of his thoughts when she grabbed his arm and kissed his dark mark, blushing furiously she spoke quietly.  
"I don't think you are weak Draco, you did what you had to do to protect your family. You are brave. Don't you see? You defied your family to protect a girl you had a relationship with at one point a long time ago. You are a boy who simply made one wrong choice. Nevertheless, you are not a boy who made _all _the wrong choices." She saw Draco shift uncomfortably as he realised where that reference was from. Dumbledore's words to him on the tower. There was a slight tinge to his cheeks as he was still recovering from that innocent kiss on his dark mark, surprisingly, it didn't feel as corrupted as before. Hermione, using all her strength, pushed herself up into a sitting position and Draco sat on the edge of the bed, nervously turning his wand in his hand.

"Draco look at me." Hermione spoke soothingly, Draco complied, turning to her. "I'm sorry, for how we finished things. I am a rational person, as you know." Draco snorted and she shot him a glare. "Therefore you know that a relationship like that, it came with so many risks. I'm not used to that, I'm Hermione Granger: The Golden Girl. I didn't - I don't.. I..I" She stuttered, fumbling over her sentences.  
"I still care about you Draco, and frankly, it scares the shite out of me. When you told me you...loved me. I panicked and ran, I'm sorry. There's not a day I don't regret how I ended it, but do you understand how I was scared? How being in a relationship such as ours where it was the most unlikely thing in the world. The magical world didn't want us to be together. It goes against every belief. I just - I was just scared."

"I understand you were scared, but don't bullshit me. I know I'm everything you should hate. A Death Eater, a pure-blood who bullied you the majority of your school life. Still, that doesn't mean...Oh sod it!" Draco grabbed Hermione's face and kissed her, cupping her cheeks with his rough hands, he bit softly on her lower lip, asking permission to deepen the kiss. Hermione moaned in content, she had missed this. Their tongues fought for a battle of dominance and Draco was tugging his hands through her soft locks. Draco's kisses were a slice of heaven to Hermione and she wished she wasn't so fragile so she could kiss him back with ferocity.

The couple were so immersed with each other they didn't notice the heavy set of feet running up the stairs, they didn't notice the door creak open, and they didn't notice the red haired boy's mouth drop open in shock as he saw his best friend playing tonsil hockey with his enemy. They did notice his roar of outrage, they did notice him grab Draco by the back of his t-shirt and they did notice him punch Draco straight in the face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Don't hit me! I'm sorry for making you wait a tad longer than I thought. But I did 30% of my English GCSE in an exam, two science ISA's and let's not forget my Drama written exams this week. :( Been a tough week but here's the next chapter :D Enjoy! OOH happy birthday to Logan Lerman. I'll see you in bed tonight ;) (if only haha)**

Chaos. That would be the only word that would be able to describe what was going on in that moment. Draco lay on the floor, head pounding, seeing whites in his eyes. How dare the fucking weasel punch a Malfoy like that! Draco swore once his head cleared, he would punch the poverty out of Ron. Draco pushed himself up and roared in anger, punching the weasel back as hard as he could, smirking in satisfaction when he heard bones crack. Ron stumbled backwards into the dresser before falling onto his back. Draco whipped his wand from the pocket of his pants and raised it at the foolish wizard, shoulders heaving with his heavy breaths. Hermione was enraged, Draco noticed. She didn't like being confined to her bed and not be able to put a stop to the _situation_ due to the torture Bellatrix put her through.

"Draco! What are you doing? Ronald! RONALD! Oh Merlin, not his face! Stop this!" Hermione screeched, her face was bright red as she struggled to defuse the situation these foolish boys were causing. There was the underlying truth that Ron would be mad, but she thought he was old enough to be a little bit more understanding. Who was she kidding? Ronald didn't have a mature bone in his body. As for Draco, he seems to turn into the same childish prat when he's in a room with Ron. Hermione huffed, she was becoming more agitated as the time passed. Watching her best friend and - she wasn't really sure what to label Draco as - fight was not how she wanted to spend her day in Shell Cottage. Hearing the thumps of Harry and Bill's feet announcing their arrival calmed her, the sound of Draco's wand hitting the floor as Harry disarmed him was muffled under the sounds of the fight. She knew Harry would be able to stop Ron and Draco as him and Bill wrenched the two idiots away from each other and held them to stop them from attacking again.

"Piss off, Potter!" Draco barked, "Get your filthy hands off me and let me teach this flobber worm a lesson!" Draco was not amused at all. He had finally had an intimate moment with the witch he loved and the weasel had to ruin everything as bloody usual. He struggled against Harry's grip and attempted to lunge for his wand in the floor in front of him, resulting in Harry only holding him tighter. Draco wiped his face with his sleeve, then observing the scarlet stain that was left over. His breath hitched as he felt the pain of a broken nose, although he was used to the pain of broken bones due to being raised by a bloody Death Eater. He gave a menacing look to Ron and then grinned widely, he was pretty chuffed. Ron had definitely felt the wrath of Draco, his face was bruising quickly and covered in blood and to be honest, Draco really needed to punch something. After all the stress he had been through these last couple of days, he needed to release his frustrations and by Ron starting the fight it was only fair Draco finished it.

"I think that's enough. Look Ron, there are more important things then fighting Malfoy. Don't look at me like that, you know there is. Maybe the fact you-know-who is trying to kill us? The word **Horcrux**, does that ring a bell? I don't like Malfoy being here as much as you do but do you see me acting like this? No. Please Ron, he's on our side. I know this, I promise." Harry reasoned with his best friend. Ron rolled his eyes and sighed, spitting some blood on the floor before he walked out the room. That left Harry, Hermione, Bill and Draco.

"I need to see Griphook and Ollivander." Harry said.  
"No I am afraid they are too ill and weak Harry. They need their rest." Bill replied.  
"I'm sorry Bill," Harry said agitated, "I have to talk to them now. It's urgent and private."  
"Now just you wait a minute Harry, you come here, covered in blood, Hermione tortured, Ron refusing to tell me what the hell has happened and Draco Malfoy sitting in this very room and you won't tell me your reasons-"  
"Please Bill!" Harry interrupted, "We are on a mission from Dumbledore and sworn to secrecy. We can't tell you anything due to the fact you are in the Order."  
Bill frowned. Harry watched his scarred face carefully, looking for any signs of defeat. He hesitated before finally making his decision.  
"Alright Harry. Who do you want to talk to first?"

Harry faltered. He wondered what he should sort out first. The mystery of the Deathly Hallows or Horcruxes. Harry licked his chapped lips and pinched the bridge of his nose before finally coming making his choice.  
"Griphook." Harry said looking at Bill. "I wish to speak to Griphook first." Bill nodded his head to the door, telling Harry to follow him. Before he left he turned  
to Hermione and Draco. Both of them stared back at him. He observed Draco's bloody face and Hermione's tired features. Hermione smiled weakly at him.  
"You were magnificent today 'Mione. Saving our skins too many times to count after everything that _woman._..did to you. I'll find out what Griphook and Ollivander have to say with Ron and tell you the news." At that, Harry walked out the room following Bill up the steep stairs to the small landing in the cottage.

Draco scourgified the blood off his clothing and face. He turned to Hermione and handed over his most prized-possession, 10" Hawthorn wood with a unicorn hair core. His wand. It just showed Hermione the trust Draco had for her. For a wizard to give over their wand shows the faith they have in the person. "You always were the best with healing spells." He said softly to her. Hermione couldn't help the grin as Draco brought up a rush of memories.

_Hermione turned over the page of her Transfiguration book, staring intently at the words and enjoying the quiet revision away from the Gryffindor Common Room. She loved the feeling of just sitting in the library being lost in her work, loosing track of time in a particularly interesting novel and just being able to forget about all the problems she faced. To forget about Voldemort and the increase of muggle-born deaths occurring in England. The smell of the books were more soothing to her than a massage to be honest. The silence of the library was disrupted - she heard the sound of Draco greeting Madam Pince. __"Deary me. You can't come into my library looking like that. You'll drip blood all over my newest copies of Miranda Goshawk's new Books of Spells." Madam Pince sounded genuinely offended by the sight of the Slytherin. She could hear her wizard arguing, glaring menacingly at the librarian as she refused to let him gain entrance. Hermione closed the book gently - books deserved respect - and trotted towards the two. She took one look at Draco's face and rolled her eyes._

_"Don't worry Madam Pince, I'll heal him. He's here to help me with a project for um - Charms! Yes that's right. Charms. Come along Draco." Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him along. Ignoring Madam Pince's scoff of annoyance. Leading him to her desk at the far back of the library, she sat him down on the chair and folded her arms at him disapprovingly. __Draco was covered in blood, eyes black and blue and still managed to look beautiful to her. She wanted to be mad at him but one look at his sheepish facial expression and she found her resolve crumbling._

_"Don't give me that look baby." Draco teased her, sticking out his tongue at her but wincing at the stretching of his cut lip. "Fine. I ran into Finnegan and let's say he didn't like the fact I tripped him up in the hall. So he redecorated my face, but don't worry I returned the favour." Draco chortled as Hermione hit him on the arm. __"You need to stop being the instigator of fights and goading people on foolishly. Draco, honestly. How old are you? 12? Stay still and let me heal your face. I can't date someone who looks like a hooligan." She joked, grabbing his chin and holding his face steady. Draco stared up at her as she muttered the incantations for the healing spell to fix his nose and get rid of the bruises scattered across his features as well as the blood. She watched as they faded till his pale skin was clear of any sign he had been in a previous fight._

_"Thanks witch." He pressed a kiss to her nose and pulled her on his lap facing him. Hugging her close he kissed up and down her neck. Hermione knew where this was going and pinched his arm. Laughing at his yelp of pain she scolded him. "Not in the library! Where everyone can see!" __"Who do you see here?" Draco retorted, pointing to the rows of the library void of any students present. The only person in the library among them was Madam Pince, but she was more interested reading some smutty novel than them. __"That's besides the point. I'm not very happy with your behaviour. You can't just trip up people because you feel like it Draco. I mean, Seamus is my friend. Fair enough he hit you, but you did start it." Hermione lectured, attempting to wriggle out of Draco's grip. Draco stiffened at the feeling of Hermione's body shifting against his and held her tighter. No way was she escaping him._

_"Really Granger, unless you want me to ravish you in this very library you'll stop wiggling about on my __l__a__p." Draco grinned cheekily at her, loving the way she blushed the deepest red. His words did have an affect, she stopped moving immediately. Draco chuckled and kissed her. Both of them lost track of time by the time they pulled apart and Hermione spied Draco's hand resting on her left breast. Boys. She stared blatantly at his hand and Draco let out an overly dramatic huff of annoyance. __"What, it's comfortable?" He laughed. Pulling her to stand up next to him he started to pack up her quills and parchment paper. Typical things obviously Draco would do, he liked to consider himself a very good boyfriend. Attending to every of his witch's needs. The only flaw being they had to keep themselves a secret. Handing Hermione over her bag, he fixed the collar of her shirt while she straightened his tie. They were good at hiding the evidence of any of their little meetings. Conjuring a mirror he looked at his handsome features, he observed her healing of his face. Satisfied with the results he grabbed her hand and smiled at her. _

_"You always were the best at healing." _

"I know." She motioned for him to come sit on the bed and gently held his face with one hand. She healed each cut and each bruise with care. Looking at his perfectly sculpted features once again she smiled at her work. Draco nodded his head in thanks and stood up. Hermione didn't know what any of this meant. She had to help Harry save the wizarding world, to defeat Voldemort. Now, with Draco Malfoy's presence here, he'd messed up the whole plan. It was supposed to be her, Harry and Ron. Finding and destroying the Horcruxes that would lead to Voldemort's demise, not with an added number. She wasn't stupid. She knew that Draco would not sit in this cottage and wait for the war to be over. His whole life was now ruined, he was a wanted person. Just like her. Harry. Ron. Her head was pounding and she wanted to sleep and to wake up at home with her parents, reading the Daily Prophet like it was any other boringly normal day. Alas, it wasn't. Suck it up. That's what she needed to do. She was the brightest witch of her age and she wasn't going to waste away and sit there feeling sorry for herself. She needed to talk to Harry as soon as she was finished. Hermione glanced at Bellatrix's hair she had found on her robes and placed in a conjured flask and looking at that one black hair she knew what that hair meant. Polyjuice potion.

"You'll need to eat Granger." Draco said, pulling her out of her thoughts. She nodded and he held out his arm, he helped her place both feet on the cold hard stone floor. Her legs wobbled but she managed to stand up with his help. Merlin's pants she was useless. Her limbs were jelly, everything ached and she could hardly stand at all. Letting Draco carry the whole of her weight he gently helped her down the stairs, his grip strong to prevent her stumbling. If she did, he ignored it as if it didn't happen, saving her from the embarrassment. Hermione, now entering the kitchen, took in her surroundings. The wooden structure contrasted with the stone floor and she was pulled out of Draco's helping hands to Fleur's strong grasp.

"'Ermione! Ma pêche!" She breathed in Fleur's smell and smiled. She'd missed seeing her friends. Being in the woods cut off from her other friends was hard. While Fleur coddled her, she sat down. Fleur had treated her to a very generous Breakfast and her mouth watered. She was finally feeling the toll of surviving in the wilderness with not many luxuries. Godric, she had missed a great English Breakfast terribly. Draco sat down and thanked Fleur for the breakfast, no one failed to notice the way she looked wearily at him. Draco shrugged at Hermione, certainly used to the cold shoulder he was getting from most people. It only seemed fair a person should react that way when letting a Death- well, _former_ Death Eater into their home. Draco grabbed Hermione's hand under the table and squeezed it comfortingly. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could, he had lost so much with her already.

"I still love you." Draco admitted quietly, causing Hermione to choke on a piece of bacon. Coughing violently she tried to compose herself quickly. He loved her. He still loved her. She was a terrible person. She tried to say it back to him. The words got caught in her throat, ironically like that piece of bacon. She responded to him pathetically by squeezing his hand back. Hermione was pretty sure no one could hate her as much as she hated herself for not being able to utter the words back to him.


	5. Chapter 5

**I didn't really want to put Travers the Death Eater in my story. So he's absent from Disregarding Blood :) Anyways, enjoy the next chapter.**

An unsettling feeling was taking residence over shell cottage. The waves crashed violently across the beach and the wind howled constantly. It seemed that with the arrival of the Golden Trio they not only brought an extra person, but the reality of the upcoming war. Hermione stood next to her best friends and thought over their plan - not a very stable plan - but a plan nevertheless. With the Polyjuice potion now brewed they were ready to search for the next Horcrux. Harry and Hermione had spoken after the fight and as irrational as it had seemed, decided to go with the hunch that Bellatrix was hiding a Horcrux in her vault at Gringotts. After a long winded discussion, they had agreed that unlike Ron, Draco did not need a disguise. They doubted that Voldemort had informed the wizarding world of Draco's betrayal due to the sheer embarrassment that one of your own Death Eaters defies you and once again Harry slips away mockingly from your grasp. Yup. Voldemort probably didn't want to bring that situation to the light. Over the last couple of days Harry had time to think. He often found himself overlooking the cliff and just letting the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks soothe him. Nightmares plagued his mind constantly, so in the darkest hours of the night, he watched the sea and let that be the only thing he saw, not the blood of his friends and family spilled because of him, just the sea's deep colours. Now, outside shell cottage, three best friends stood conversing.

"Harry, If we stick to the plan, nothing should go wrong. Grab the Horcrux and destroy it with the sword. Then we'll disapparate out as quickly as possible." Hermione said reassuringly, more to herself.  
"I'm more worried about Malfoy to be honest." Harry said, looking at the pale-haired boy, who was aimlessly kicking a shell in the sand a few meters away.  
"I've told him the plan and I have his word. I know he won't go back on it. He can be trusted you know. He is quite...different. I think he'll surprise you." Hermione grinned.

"Believe me." Harry muttered. "He already has."

Draco had grown impatient. He was sick of watching Pothead and Weasel piss about, he was getting angrier by the minute. An annoying voice in the back of his head taunted him, reminding him that this plan was a bunch of bollocks that could end up in them all being killed. They had made a deal with a bloody goblin. All wizards knew that goblins felt that everything goblin-made was theirs to keep in the end, adding to that, they assumed that they could break into his aunt's vault and come out unscathed. Was it really Gryffindor courage? Or stupidity? Draco was going for the latter. Striding towards the three, he look pointedly at the polyjuice potion in Hermione's hand.

"Go on, drink it. We do not have all day. Bellatrix frequently visits the vault, the quicker we get there, the quicker we get out." Draco spoke bluntly and tapped his foot, enjoying the way Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in frustration at him. Letting out a deliberately loud sigh she tipped back the potion. Instantly her face scrunched up in disgust. She'd forgotten how disgusting the taste was. She remembered that it was simply awful in second year when she had mistakenly turned herself into a cat. However, now it was fresh on her taste buds, she felt like bringing back up her breakfast. Shuddering violently, she felt the transformation pulling at her skin, tightening her bones, her bushy locks formed into the matted wild bush otherwise known as Bellatrix's hair. Draco, Ron and Harry watched on slightly disturbed as they saw their beloved friend turn into a witch they despised. Once the vile transformation was complete, Harry handed over to Hermione Bellatrix's wand.

Hermione trembled while performing a spell to change her clothing into the signature tattered Gothic rags Bellatrix was always seen in. She then turned to Ron, focusing hard, she muttered under her breath and the others watched as Ron's appearance transformed. Hermione had given him a completely fake identity, she was hoping no one would question him due to the aura of power Bellatrix seemed to ooze everywhere she went.

"There, does he look good enough Harry?" Hermione said, worriedly.  
Harry simply nodded his head and walked towards the place where the Fidelius Charm would stop working, where they would be able to disapparate away from Shell Cottage. While the five walked past the gate, Griphook spoke snapping them all out of their thoughts.  
"I think it's about time I climbed up, ." Harry complied, bending down so Griphook could climb onto his back. Hermione grabbed the Invisibility Cloak from her beaded bag and concealed them both. Satisfied with her work, she turned to Draco.

"Listen to me now, our lives all depend on this going well. Just follow me and pretend to be my...nephew." Hermione spoke in a soft voice, careful not to sound so demanding. Draco was already in a bad mood these past couples of days, she didn't want to set him off just when they were about to go on a life-threatening mission.

"Let's go." Hermione said. She linked Draco's hand with her own, and concentrated with all her energy on the Leaky Cauldron, the inn which all wizards knew to be the entrance to Diagon Alley. Feeling only a small amount of dizziness, she walked into the Inn with Draco at her side. Taking one look at the confidence and sense of authority Draco gave off, Hermione abruptly straightened her back and attempted to look give off the same image.

"Madam Lestrage, ." Tom bowed his head, avoiding looking them in the eye. Hermione, about to reply, hissed as Draco kicked her in the shin. He shook his head and she scoffed, this had the desired effect and Tom shrank away, clearly uncomfortable to be in the couple's presence. Hermione pulled out Bellatrix's wand from her bag and tapped one certain brick in the wall. The bricks moved around like puzzle pieces carefully slotting into place to from an arch. Walking through the hole that was created, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Draco and the Goblin stepped on the cobbled pavement of Diagon Alley and made their way towards the bank.

The Alley was thick with heavy silence. With only a few shops open and barely any shoppers it contrasted to the busy place all the wizards had once known. The usually welcome place for all magic-folk was drowning in despair, shops were boarded up, closed off. New ones seemed to only consist of the Dark Arts. Harry's face was everywhere. Stuck on windows, signs, newspapers and even people's homes. Everywhere you'd cast your eyes he'd be staring straight back at you. Undesirable Number One - it mocked him. His nerves were strangling him, seeing his face everywhere angered him to no end, he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Nearing the bank, they noticed two wizard's flanking the entrace, holding tall, thin golden rods in their hands.

"Probity Probes." Hermione groaned. Remembering who she was supposed to be, she strolled over to the men and looked at them with boredom. Harry knew what those probes did. They detected any concealment charms and hidden magical objects. Quick to think he muttered a Confundo Charm and let out a sigh of relief as the wizards stepped back and let them pass. The right wizard scratched his head, confused, before shaking it and resuming his guard position. Looking over at the vast room, Draco couldn't help but remember all the times he had swaggered the halls with his father. Looking distastefully at the goblins who worked there, he remembered looking into the family vault in awe as millions of Galleons glinted at him. He imagined he would go here to collect his next sum of gold his father had offered him, not to steal a Horcrux needed to destroy Voldemort. This whole situation was fucked up. Rows upon rows of goblins were lined, Hermione headed straight to the main goblin. He was sitting there examining a golden coin, staring at it intently. Draco, coughing loudly, gained his attention. He stared up at the goblin daring him to challenge him. Oddly, the goblin muttered a single word to no one in particular then his eyes widened as he saw Hermione.

"Madame Lestrange, h-how, can I be of service?" the goblin stumbled over his words.  
"I wish to enter my vault." Hermione lifted her chin, hoping she looked threatening.  
"Your wand, Madam." said the goblin who held out his hand, wanting identification. Hermione was panicked, just one look and Draco could tell. With these words, the goblin looked to his left and right. Many goblins turned their heads and stared at Hermione. Something wasn't right to Draco, these Goblins looked far too smug for his liking, almost as if...

"They know!" Griphook hissed in Harry's ear. "Do something!"  
Harry knew the spell he had to cast. An unforgivable. Though, at this moment, it was the last resort. Whispering the word, "Imperio!" for what he hoped was the last time of his life. He felt empowered, his wand arm was tingling with an odd sensation and he could feel the connection his magic had created to the goblin. He watched in awe as the Goblin inspected the wand and looked at Hermione, nodding before saying.

"Ah, Madam Lestrange. Follow me, we shall now go to your vault." They complied. The group followed the goblin who accepted a bag that seemed to contain metal that was clanging loudly with every move he made. Walking through many doors, they came across a stone passage littered with torches across the walls, their shadows eerily following them. Harry had a terrible feeling. He heard a door slam behind him and he jumped in shock before springing into action.

"The goblins know what we are up to!" Harry said, turning to look behind the door, he heard a barrage of voices nearing.  
"Then we'll need to move quickly," Draco rushed, "Get in the car all of you. Potter, if the goblin is still imperiused - nice job by the way, didn't think you had the balls - then get him to summon the cart so we can get to the vault!" Harry chortled before realising the seriousness of the situation. He raised his wand at the goblin, concentrating on making him summon the cart. Emerging from Godric knows where the cart appeared from the darkness. Draco, Ron, Hermione, the goblin, Harry and Griphook crammed themselves into the cart, painfully crushed together but no one voiced their discomfort for now was certainly not the time. The cart creaked before rocketing down the tracks, turning and twisting through the darkness, it jerked the passengers about, groans of pains and the sounds of foreheads bashing against each other were muffled under the sound of the cart's wheels whirling along the tracks. Deeper and deeper they went into the depths of the earth, hair whipping them all, glasses nearly flying off Harry's face. They came closer to what looked like a waterfall.

"NO!" Griphook howled, the realisation of what the waterfall was dawned on him. The Thief's Downfall. There was nothing anyone could do to stop the cart from it's haste. They were all submurged under the water, it clogged up their nasal passages and stung their eyes with the force. It was everywhere. Suddenly, the cart ejected them, five screams echoed throughout the vast space underground, Draco's yell was by far the loudest.

"I BLOODY TOLD YOU, YOU INCOMPETENT TWATS!"

If someone told Draco he was going to die falling out of a cart in the depths underground Gringotts bank he would of laughed in their face and recommended that they see a healer at . What a shame to find out this was his reality: Death by falling. He had hoped that his death would've been more interesting, but right now, it seemed he was going to be a bloody pancake on the rock floor. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping the pain wouldn't be that terrible. Instead of being a mangled body on the floor, he heard Hermione's cry. He gently floated to the ground and stumbled about. Everyone stared at the girl in shock.  
"Cushioning Charm." She said, twirling Bellatrix's wand in her fingers.  
Draco grabbed Hermione and spun her in a single circle, placing her down, he smacked a big kiss on her cheek in gratefulness. Hermione blushed, he froze as he looked at her. She was her - Draco would never had shown his aunt any affection, so it made sense that he would on impulse kiss her when she looked like herself. All the others noticed too, Ron's disguise was null and void, Hermione was herself. Looking up at the waterfall, they understood what it had done.

"The thief's Downfall," Griphook grunted, "it washes away all enchantments and magical concealments. They know we have broken in, they have set up defences to catch us. Quickly. We need to move!"

Harry noticed the the goblin was loose from the imperius curse due to the water, so he quickly recast the spell. Following the Goblin down a few more passages, they came across a sight that made Hermione gasp in horror. Blocking the way from five faults, a white dragon was stood. The pale scaled dragon was tortured and maimed, scars were scattered all over it's body. Deep gashes that look recent covered it's hind legs. It was barbaric. Ron made a sound of disgust at the sight and turned to Griphook.

"What now?"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I read my story and found plenty of spelling mistakes which I'm going to correct tomorrow as it's 11pm in England and I need to sleeeeeeeep! Ahh so tired. Anyway, on with this shizzle.**

The dragon roared, thrashing it's head around the room wildly, the force of his cries were causing the room to quake. Draco watched with pity as it clawed desperately, clearly in pain.  
"It's blind." Hermione spoke, breaking the wizards out of their observation on the dragon. Griphook nodded in reply, pulling open the bag that contained the metal contraption. Draco exhaled loudly, wondering how they were going to get past _yet_ another obstacle.  
"Partially blind," Griphook corrected, holding out the metal he gave it to Ron and Harry, "These are Clankers. They will stop the dragon from attacking us, when it hears this noise it expects pain. Therefore, it'll back off."

Harry and Ron began to shake the Clankers, gently at first, hearing only a small ringing noise. Then, they began to shake it harder, watching in awe as the dragon whined, whimpered and retreated to the far corner of the room, curling in a ball attempting to protect itself. Hermione felt her heart break as she watched the sight of such a powerful creature reduced to a small quivering mess at the sound of the deep ringing noise. As they walked closer towards the dragon and towards the door where the goblin would have to place his palm on it for it to open, Hermione could see the extent of the injuries much clearer. Deep gashes were scattered across the dragon's face, some crusted over seemed only weeks old, some still oozed blood. The dragon must of been tortured earlier this day. A drop of blood slithered down from a particularly bad cut like a small red river.

"Potter!" Draco urged, looking at the dragon cautiously, "Make the goblin press his hand on the door!" Harry hastily raised his wand at the goblin and made him place his palm against it. They watched as the wooden door dissipated before their eyes and exposed a cave-like room, as they ushered in all that could be seen was shelves littered with treasures. Galleons piled a mile high, glinting against the wand light. Harry told the imperiused goblin to stand facing a far wall to the left, not wanting him to get in the way.

"No time for staring! Search now!" Harry yelled, franticly looking around, he needed to find the Horcrux fast. It would not take long for the guards to find them snooping in this vault. As the wizards examined the objects around the room, desperately hoping to find the Horcrux, Harry saw the fake sword of Godric Gryffindor. He really didn't want to give away the real sword...he could try tricking the Goblin. Yeah right. Griphook would be able to see through the fake sword in a second. Harry tried to concentrate on where the Horcrux would be...

"I think I found the gobl- ARGH! Fucking bollocks! My hand!" Draco cried, shoving his fingers into his mouth. The others watched as the one goblet he been previously holding dropped to the floor and exploded. Out of that goblet came another, then another, there were now so many the floor was becoming a sea of the damn things. You couldn't tell one from the other.  
"It's the Gemino and Flagrante curses!" Griphook said, dodging a goblet flying towards his face. "I should of known that bastard would find a way to protect it from being taken. Everything we touch will burn and multiply. Do not touch anything." Griphook's advice was completely ignored it seemed as when he said that, Ron had just accidentally stumbled into a section of goblets, letting out a screech as it burned through his shoe, hopping around crazily. The goblets exploded into around thirty more, leaving the cave floor steaming and piping hot.

"You're an idiot, Weasley." Draco dead-panned.  
"Piss off, Malfoy! Who was the one who touched what they shouldn't have in the first place?" Ron retorted, his cheeks flushing a deep red.  
"You're mum." Draco replied childishly, laughing at Ron's murderous expression.

"Oh for the love of Merlin! Just stay still!" Harry roared, then clutched his scar, looking directly in front of him. "It's there! Up there _look_!" Waving his arms to the direction of the goblet which was gleaming at him, standing proudly on a dark wooden shelf, surrounded by a swarm of galleons. Harry wasn't sure how to get it due to the fact everything he touched burned and multiplied.

"What are we going to do?" Ron asked, staring at the cup in longing. Hermione had pulled Godric's sword out of her beaded bag and was holding it ready if Harry was to need it. Realising this, Harry yanked the sword out of Hermione's hands and dived into the treasure, ignoring the protests of the goblin behind him. Oh god, he was so close, he held in his cries as he felt the goblets burn his skin, blistering him. Hermione - quick to act - shouted a spell to protect her raven-haired friend.

"Levicorpus!" She yelled. Harry felt himself being yanked into the air by the force of her magic, hitting more treasure he let out a terrible scream of pain and frustration, but managed to shove the sword through the handle of the Horcrux, then he grabbed it by the handle himself, running to the others, who were yelling as they were burned by the items in the room. Draco clutched at Hermione's arm pulling her towards the door, while Ron hobbled after them, swearing under his breath. Harry shoved the Horcrux into his pocket and pulled Griphook out of the rubble of goblets, the brutally burned and blistered Griphook grabbed the sword from Harry's grasp and laughed menacingly, grabbing the other goblin with him he ran out the room. The other goblin was broken from the imperius curse and began to scream, "Thief! Thieves! HELP!"

"You little shit! Get back here!" Draco yelled, running after the traitorous goblin. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed him out the cave-like room. They saw Draco standing proudly and his wand was pointed towards what looked like 100 guards and goblins. They were pretty sure he would be a pile of dust if it wasn't for the large dragon in front of him which was blocking their path. Swiping rows upon rows with it's spiked tail, it helped distract the guards from attacking them.  
"Draco Malfoy. What are you doing aiding the Undesirable No1? As well as steeling from your own aunts vault?" The goblin who Harry had previously imperiused - who looked the least bit happy - questioned him. What was his name again? Draco tried to remember if his father had ever said it when they visited the Malfoy vault. Oh right.

"Balrog, I believe we only took what was needed to be taken." Draco replied ominously. It didn't really seem like the right time to start a verbal battle and Draco wondered how they would get out of this unharmed. You see, Draco was not by any means - a hero. He was not selfless or brave, he was cunning. He guessed it was the Sytherin in him but that also meant he was good at planning. Malfoy's were good at escaping, it was what they did best, running away like cowards. He knew exactly what to do. He ran towards the dragon and clambered onto it's hind leg, pushing himself up onto it's back. The other's followed his lead and he helped them by hoisting them all up by their arms onto the dragon's back. Feeling the tough scales on his palms he stroked the dragon gently and then shouted a spell like a war cry.

"**_RELASHIO!_**" : The cuffs holding the dragon captive broke. It reared and began to breathe a line of fire at the goblins and guards. They began to scatter into different directions and run away from the rage of the beast.

The dragon had finally realised it was free and the wizards clung on for their lives as it took off in flight, it's wings hitting against the walls. Wizard guards attempted to shoot spells but they were useless as the dragon was causing rock shards from the walls to fall on them which resulted in the wizard guards having to dive out of the way. Ron was looking up in horror. How in the name of Dumbledore were they going to be able to get out? The cave top was too small. Ron was terrified as the dragon was getting closer to it.  
"What are we going to do? The dragon won't be able to get out!?" Ron panicked. Harry racked his brain trying to remember any curses that would help, Hermione was already one step ahead of him.

"DEFODIO! DEFODIO! DEPRIMO!" Hermione shouted the two spells which she knew would weaken the cave roof of Gringotts, the others - realising what he was trying to do - joined in with their spells trying to open up a large enough hole for the dragon to fit through. Rubble and stone fell, whacking goblins and crushing them painfully, the dragon's hot fire also helped in protecting them from any attacks the wizard guards would try in desperation to stop them. The carving and weakening spell was working, their magic combined and the Dragon's strength caused them to burst up into the marble hallway of Gringotts Bank, shattering the room. The dragon hissed in anger at it's captors before crashing out of the glass ceiling and flying over Diagon Alley. They had done it.

The only problem they faced now was getting off the dragon. It seemed to only rise higher in the sky, nowhere close to landing. Draco felt dread bubbling inside him. They may have made it out alive, only slightly burnt but it was only another challenge to work out how they would get down to be able to apparate. A barrage of questions where rushing through Draco's head. What would Bellatrix do? Did Voldemort know that the Horcrux was now stolen? His family surely by now realised he was fighting for another side, his father would be disgusted...his mum. Oh god, his mum! Despite what others may think he had a place in his 'cold' heart for his mother. She understood him and always cared for him, he knew for certain she didn't believe in the same pure-blood supremacy. Yet that didn't mean she would ever approve of his relationship with a muggleborn. He couldn't help but wonder if they were even still alive, their lives had been threatened with his task, he doubted Voldemort was pleased with them raising a traitorous Death Eater. Higher they flew, Hermione clinging onto Draco, wrapping her arms around his waist. He knew it wasn't good to dwell on all the scenarios that could be occurring in the Manor as anything could have happened. He just hoped he wouldn't returned from this war - of course only if they succeeded - and found his parent's skeletons in the dungeons. His mistakes followed him around like a plague, destroying his sanity slowly, racking him with guilt constantly. He decided now to only focus on the positive. Hermione was with him. They all survived. They had a Horcrux. They had nothing to destroy it with. How the hell where they going to get off this dragon? He was tired. He was hungry. He was feeling sick. The cons outweighed the pros clearly. So much for thinking positive.

Draco let out a yelp as the dragon swooped downwards like a bullet. His whole body was protesting with the strain of hanging on to the dragon, he dug his fingers deeper into the scales.  
"A lake! We are getting closer to it!" Hermione yelled over the roaring sound of the wind. Harry nodded, as the dragon's belly was touching the water, spraying it in different directions Harry made the first move.

"NOW!" He yelled, sliding down the side of the dragon he was submerged in the water. It felt like knives slicing him with the cold impact, he pushed himself to the surface and coughed furiously and held his glasses to his face trying to not get them carried away by the force of the waves. Up came Hermione, Ron and Draco. Each of them looked like pissed off drowned rats. They had dropped close to the bank of the lake so they swam using all their energy to the bank and saw the Dragon fly away into the distance. Pulling themselves further up onto the tall rough grasp they lay there panting.

"I never want to see a goblin _again."_ Draco gritted through his chattering teeth. Hermione pushed herself up and watched as the dragon disappeared into the clouds before asking.  
"Do you think the dragon will be ok?"  
"I'm pretty sure it can handle itself. Or have you forgotten it's about 20 feet tall?" Draco said sarcastically.  
"Shut up." Hermione said endearingly.

Extracting the essense of dittany from her enchanted beaded bag, she started to apply it on her worst wounds. Once she was finished, she passed it round. Harry had already cast the protective spells and enchantments so they wouldn't be discovered. Digging deep down into her bag she pulled out four bottles of pumpkin juice. Draco planted a kiss on her cheek in thanks and gulped it down. He was famished. She then handed them clean robes to change into, they scourgified themselves cleans but alas it never seemed to feel as satisfying as when you took a hot shower but it had to do for now. Ron was hissing under his breath as his wounds healed and stung, his skin regrew before his eyes.

"Well, at least we have the cup now, Harry." Ron said, firmly holding his best friend's shoulder in comfort.  
"We are lacking the weapon to kill it with." Harry replied glumly. Hermione was about to pull them all into a hug when Harry dropped to his knees, clutching his head. His scar was burning like the sun, heating him all over. Draco watched in shock as the boy was twitching, eyes shut so tight he thought they would explode. Two minutes. Two minutes of watching Harry tremble, lost in his own mind which was tied to his worst enemy. Voldemort. Hermione was running her hands through his hair, soothing him.

Harry's eyes opened, full of worry as he spoke his next words.

"He knows."


	7. Chapter 7

**I hate exams and school.. now I have to learn 2 Spanish Orals since I suck at speaking Spanish. Hence, I have to redo them to get higher grades, but, that's not all. I have to learn my Drama play off by heart as well. I hate year 11 and GCSE's. So sorry for making you wait like 2 weeks. Oh dear, enough complaining, here's some development in the Dramione relationship...aka I attempted pitifully to give you guys some smut. **

Dread was consuming the teenagers. It followed them like a cloud of doubt, a barrage of questions were running through their mind. Could they do this? Will they be able to destroy the Horcrux? All they needed to do was destroy the cup, find the diadem and then kill Nagini. Once they had achieve this then Voldemort would be mortal and Harry would reduce that pitiful excuse of a wizard to a pile of ash on the floor. Well, that's if they managed to get to the Chamber of Secrets, obtain the Basilisk fang and then find the diadem.

"We're screwed." Draco said, bluntly.  
"Don't be such a pessimist, the boys and I have planned this for months. Everything we've ever done has led to this moment, Draco." Hermione explained, looking over at Harry and Ron's tent where the two lay sleeping. Her and Draco had just finished setting up their own tent and were now sitting on the dry ground outside it. The fire Draco had built was illuminating his features and Hermione's mouth went dry. With all the action that had been occurring these last couple of days she had forgotten she was in her ex-boyfriend's presence. He looked like a grumpy angel, his white-blond hair a messy halo. Hermione marvelled at the way his jaw clenched when he was stressed and his eyes would darken, drawing her in. She watched the way his long fingers were fidgeting on the hem of his shirt, tugging and pulling it.

"I know I'm sexy, but there's no need to stare." Draco joked, winking at the witch. Hermione opened and closed her mouth, flustered. She wasn't staring, her eyes just passed over his form and they may of ...appreciated the view longer then was it deemed necessary.  
"I was't staring! I was observing you." Hermione replied defensively, pushing a few stray curls away from her face.  
"Right." Draco laughed, unable to stop the wide smile forming on his face.

Draco sighed deeply after a few short moments of silence, he couldn't help but feel the exhaustion from their eventful day slowly consume him. He missed his large bed in the manor, green sheets made of the finest silk and most of all the large pillows that felt like a pile of clouds when he rested his head on them. This trail of thought was making him down right depressed, he knew he shouldn't be complaining. He was in the company of Hermione, that was a plus. How could he forget he was hanging out with the two dunderheads also known as Pothead and Weasel. A small, _small_ part of Draco had to admit, they weren't _that_ bad...sometimes.

"Do you remember when Blaise found out we were dating?" Hermione asked. Draco simply nodded in reply, intrigued by where the conversation was leading.  
"I just want to focus on the good memories, Draco. Tomorrow is only hours away and it's slowly dawning on me that we both might not...make it out of this war alive. So much blood will be spilled tomorrow from either the dark or light. I just - I just want to be able to spend one night without the constant fear of what the next day will bring."

Draco understood what she was saying. Tomorrow they would go to Hogsmeade and make their way to infiltrate Hogwarts. Tomorrow will bring them pain, but tomorrow might just bring them a strong relief, the end of the war. Shuffling closer to Hermione so their sides were touching he gently took her hands in his and placed a light kiss on her palm.

"That memory is one of my fondest." He admitted, licking his chapped lips. "How did it start again?"  
"We were arguing," Hermione smiled, "Isn't that what we always do?"  
"Not always." Draco gasped in jest, clutching his heart. "You wound me with that answer! Sometimes we do other things." He sent a suggestive glance to her and she laughed loudly, before slapping her hand over her mouth, scared to wake up the two sleeping boys in the tent behind them.

"You have a one-track mind. Those 'other things' happened after the argument anyway." Hermione changed her position so she was sitting opposite Draco, her back to the warm fire. Draco stretched his arms above his head before he spoke.  
"I remember it so clearly, you had just saw me with Pansy earlier and stormed towards me with all the anger of a goddess who had just been betrayed and then you smacked the daylights out of me." He said, subconsciously rubbing his cheek. Hermione let out a huff of anger at the mention of the pug face witch.  
"Oh Pansy..that evil little-"

_"WRETCHED HUMAN BEING!" Hermione ranted, pushing Draco Malfoy up against the stone wall of the corridor by the Transfiguration classroom. Looking around to make sure no one was able to hear this lovers quarrel, she slapped him hard across the face. Feeling extremely satisfied at the harsh sound that echoed through the halls and the red hand print that was blossoming on the white skin of his cheek. Draco felt rage rush through his veins and opened his mouth to roar at her when he was slapped again. _

_"What the FUCK?" He bellowed, he grabbed her wrist mid-air to stop her from slapping him a third time. Draco was fuming, how dare she slap him and twice no less! He did nothing wrong. She was overreacting, overreacting being an understatement. Pansy may of been a bit more touchy-feely then usual, but who could blame her for being attracted to him, he was quite the catch._

_"You disgusting pure-blooded pig!" Hermione cried, her cheeks flushed in anger. "You just let her hang all over you. Sitting there in the class with that stupid smirk on your face while she fixed your tie and couldn't keep her hands off you! What is wrong with you? Do you like seeing me vexed? Does it amuse your sadistic brain to see me upset at your actions?" She tried to pull herself out of his stone grasp, wriggling about wildly._

_"You're seriously making me wonder how you gained the title 'smartest witch of your age' because right now you sure aren't acting like you deserve it." Draco spat.  
"How dare you! You infuriating bo-"  
"Just for once woman, let me speak!" Draco interrupted her pointless ranting, he then reversed their positions so her back was to the wall and he was looming over her. Still holding her wrists in a firm grasp so she stayed in place he leaned closer to her so that their foreheads were touching and he could taste the anger on her breath.  
_

_"Do you want to know what makes me angry like this on a day-to-day basis? When I sit there and see your two best friends wrap their arms around you, or push some hair out of your face. They whisper in your ear and you to laugh and smile widely and I..." He explained angrily.  
__"That's different." Hermione whispered harshly, "You know Harry and Ron are my friends and nothing more!"  
"Pansy is my friend too, Granger! Or did you forget that?" Draco hissed.  
"You know she wants more than that though Draco. You can't stand here and tell me that her feelings for you are only platonic." She argued back, unable to help the tears from blurring her vision. "I know I probably look like a jealous fool but seeing her draping herself all over you like a harlot really got to me."_

_Draco felt like an arsehole in that moment. He was making her cry. As soon as he saw those tears about to fall he knew he didn't want to fight her any more on this topic, it was emotionally draining and was a stupid argument to begin with. He let go of her wrists and pulled her into his arms, cradling her to his chest. Closing his eyes tightly, he decided he would be a bloody sap and might as well ease her worries, she meant a lot to him and he hoped his next words would truly prove it to her.  
_

_"I like you. I know people think I am a fallacious cold-blooded serpent who can't fathom how to care about someone other then himself, but I'm not. I care about you more than you may believe. I sometimes wish we didn't have to hide our relationship from our peers. I wish my family wasn't so asinine so that I could take you home and show them what an amazing witch I'm honoured to call mine. Yet to my dismay, I can't. And for that, I'm extremely remorseful. You make me feel intoxicated by all these different emotions that I'm addled at because they are so new to me." He opened his eyes slowly and saw Hermione looking up at him in admiration. _

_"You rile me, but I adore you so much." She choked on a sob and pulled his face down to hers for a kiss. He returned it deeply, placing one hand on her waist and one gently cupping the back of her neck. He felt her ample bosom press against his chest and groaned. She tugged on his hair, musing the perfectly styled cut and tangled her tongue with his. Draco then ran his hands down the contours of her body, trailing them down her smooth waist till he cupped her bottom in his hands and carried on their hungry kiss. She made him feel like he was on a never ending high, just kissing her was enough to cause him to want to burst. He felt himself harden and he detached his mouth from her soft lips to kiss down her neck. He felt content listening to her heavy breathing in his ear as he sucked on her sensitive skin, causing her to mewl and squirm in wanton need. _

_"Draco. Why were we even fighting?" Hermione moaned, throwing her head back further as he continued his devilish actions on her neck.  
"Who cares? We should of been doing this." He grunted and marvelled at the way he could feel her laugh vibrate through him, he raised his burning gaze to hers and went in for another kiss. Unknown to them, Blaise Zabini was looking for his childhood friend so that they could go to their Charms class together with the sodding Gryffindors when he came across a startling sight. The Golden Girl kissing the Slytherin Prince and all he could do was stare at them in astonishment._

_"I knew it!" He whooped, punching his fist in the air. Draco and Hermione stiffened at the sound of his voice and immediately pulled themselves out of their intimate embrace. Hermione fixed her skirt from where Draco was groping her and attempted to make herself look presentable. She failed. Her face was bright red in embarrassment and Draco still had the fading outline of her slaps gracing his sharp features. His swollen lips formed into a shocked 'o' as he realised what this could mean. Blaise was his best friend since birth as a result of many summers at each other's Manors and play dates with the endless streams of nannies but at the end of the day; he was a Slytherin. Loyalty was after all, a Hufflepuff quality. _

_"All those nights you came home, hickeys all over you and you wouldn't tell me who the mystery girl was I got a feeling it was Granger when I noticed how you'd taunt Pothead and Weasel but not her. Oh Salazar this is amazing." Blaise gushed, looking as if he was about to start singing in joy. Hermione glanced at Draco questioningly, who simply shrugged at his friend's odd behaviour, disturbed._

_"Blaise, you can't tell anyone." Draco rushed out, his tone serious. Blaise rolled his eyes in response making his way towards the two and pulling them into an awkward embrace.  
"I feel like the proud father of you Draco. Did you think I wouldn't notice the constant glances you sent her way? God, at the Yule Ball I swear I saw you wipe drool from your mouth. It's about time you guys got together." Blaise laughed at Draco's embarrassment, and ruffled his hair. "And now, I can admit to you that I've had a hard-on for Pavarti Patil for ages." Hermione let out a gasp at this, eyes widening in shock. What was happening? She was baffled at the Slytherin's behaviour._

_"Aren't you going to berate me? Tell me how I'm soiling my bloodline, tainting the Pureblood ways?" Draco said sarcastically, Hermione didn't take offence to his comment at all, understanding what he was getting at.  
"Pshhh, all that blood buisness is terribly boring. You should know by now I don't care to waste my time with such pointless hatred based on someone's background. All a bunch of bollocks in my opinion."  
__"You really are a twat Blaise." Draco said fondly, he wrapped his arm around Hermione's waste and the three of them walked to their next lesson. Inside that door of Charms class, Draco would have to pretend he was not an item with Hermione. He let go of her and they awkwardly shared a small grin before it was decided Hermione would walk in first to avoid any suspicion. Just before she turned the handle of the oakwood door, Blaise placed a hand on her shoulder._

_"You two are a good balance for each other." _

"Pansy was a thorn in my side who just wouldn't leave me alone." Draco said, "To be honest. That was a really good memory. I wonder what has happened to Blaise. I hope he's fairing as well as anyone can at this time." Hermione chewed her lip in thought. Tomorrow they would find out how the students were dealing with the outbreak of the war and Snape as the new headmaster.

"Do you miss your parents, Draco?" Hermione asked, rubbing soothing circles on his palm with her thumb.  
"Sometimes," Draco swallowed, "More my mother than father to be honest. My mum, she...she's probably the only person who's ever loved me through my whole life and I hope she's still alive. Who knows what that bastard has done to punish her for my mistakes. He's threatened her before, he can easily do it again." Hearing that confession nearly broke Hermione's heart. He was full of grief deep inside him, dealing with a neglected childhood and the strain of his father forcing the life of a Death Eater upon him. She needed to tell him the truth, she had been battling with her conflicting feelings for a while now.

"Draco. I think you're wrong about your mother being the only person who loves you. I don't know why I denied this feeling for so long. I love you. Oh Godric I love you too. I love you so much it's overwhelming. I can't think about tomorrow without the strongest urge to cry because there's a part of me that knows loving you will cause me pain as tomorrow you and I might meet our fate. I'm sorry that I've only said it to you now. I should of told you ages ago, I just didn't understand why I couldn't utter those words that would tie me to you. I love you Draco." Finally, she had told him and all she could do was wait for him to speak.

The phrase actions speak louder than words was what Draco relied on as he shook himself out of his dazed state. Once he took in what she just said he launched himself at her. She loved him. The sodding witch loved him and he swore no moment would ever be able to outshine this. He felt invincible. Voldemort and the advancing war could not create a fault in the perfection of this point in time. Her timing with her words couldn't be any less than impeccable because it felt so _right._

So he kissed her for what seemed like hours, lying down on the grass together, they talked and reminisced over the times before their break up. Tomorrow they would be fighting for the good of the wizarding world. Today, they were worshipping their rekindled love.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yeah so I haven't updated for a while... *cough* School is the bane of my existence. Oh my god, who is excited for Iron Man 3 on May 3rd? It's literally all I can think about and Robert Downey Jr is a legend. Time for the Quarrelsome Quartet to get their asses to Hogwarts! PS: A very Potter Senior Year is out on YouTube since yesterday. ITS BEAUTIFUL. This chapter has a lot of Deathly Hallows content that I shorted and put into my own words, yeah no fluff here guys aha.**

"We need to get going." Harry said, ushering the three teens towards him. They needed to act fast as time was closing in on them. Voldemort was already alerted that his Horcrux's were being destroyed and that resulted in his next target being Hogwarts. The problem they faced was getting to Hogwarts, it was going to be one hellish journey that they could not afford to make any mistakes. If Voldemort realises that they have the cup and locket in their possession what's not to say that he would move the Diadem from Hogwarts for it's safety?

"Potter, do I need to remind you that your face is plastered on every wall in the wizarding world." Draco said, "Or has that seemed to slip from your mind? How in the name of Merlin are we going to get past the Death Eaters?"  
"We are going to go to Hogsmeade, then from there we can just-" Harry paused, not sure how to word his not-very-well planed out plan.  
"Go with the flow." Hermione finished his sentence, "I suggest we go there to take a look at how well the school is being protected and make a decision on our entrance to the school from there."

Draco wasn't convinced Potter had a good plan but who was he to argue with the 'Chosen One' right? Stifling a moan, he cast a Disillusion Charm on himself as Harry, Ron and Hermione squeezed themselves under the Cloak of Invisibility. Feeling Hermione's soft palm graze his, he closed his eyes as the strong discomfort of apparating consumed him. His stomach churned uncomfortably, he wasn't sure if it was the edge of worry of what was to occur or the method of transportation to Hogsmeade. Draco opened his eyes and was met with the sight of Hogsmeade, the familiar place he remembered to once be inviting was the complete opposite of the word. Dark, dreary and damp was all he could describe it as when he laid his eyes upon the view but his musing was interrupted when he heard the sound. It was a lord piercing screech, eerily similar to Voldemort's yell of fury that echoed across the silent town. The four's presence was not undetected, the Death Eaters barged out of the Three Broomsticks, wands raised and at the ready for them.

"Come out wherever you are, Potter!" A Death Eater cooed, excited at the prospect of capturing the wanted teen. "Spread out! All of you! We will find the pathetic little boy and bring him to the Dark Lord!" As the Death Eaters ran wild attempting to find them, Ron, Harry and Hermione followed Draco as he ran into a side-street, only barely able to see the faint outline of his figure. Draco grunted as he stumbled into something wooden and then his eyes widened as he felt himself being yanked into an open door on the left-hand side of the street.

"Draco!" Hermione called out in panic and yelped as Harry clamped his hand around her mouth to keep her quiet.  
"OI! What was that! This way, I think I've found 'em!" A Death Eater cheered. The three friends could hear the thumping of dozens of sets of feet closing in on them and rushed towards the door where Draco had vanished. The same pair of arms that had taken Draco pulled the three into the door and it slammed shut, concealing the noise of the Death Eaters.

"Harry Potter. Come upstairs now and keep quiet, that stands for all of you. Your friend is upstairs also, quickly. Follow me." A unknown voice said, Harry was unable to make out who it was due to the darkness settling in the room. They all obliged. They weren't certain this tall figure could be trusted but right now, he was a much more reliable option then the horde of Death Eaters prowling the town for them. As they entered the room they saw Draco staring up at an oil painting above a plain fireplace. The painting stood proudly and the teenagers couldn't help but notice it before the tattered carpet and rotting wooden floorboards. The girl was a petite blonde and her natural beauty shone through the painting, they couldn't help but stare at the odd expression gracing her features. It was as if she knew something that they didn't, that they would soon discover.

Draco was still staring rather intently at the painting and then he turned to the man who had saved them. "Look, people always complain that I am blunt, but who the hell are you?" The figure let out a small chuckle and stepped out into the light, exposing his face for them to see clearly. He had a long grey hair that stopped mid-back and a beard to match. Harry raised his eyes to meet the man's and a soft gasp escaped him.  
"I know you!" He exclaimed, raising his eyebrows in realisation. It all made sense to Harry, the man had saving him was not by pure luck, there was an answer to this.

"Pardon?" The man questioned, tilting his head.  
"You are the eyes that I've been seeing in the mirror. The same blue that I've seen before. You sent Dobby to save us. You've been helping us this whole time!"  
"Where is the Elf? I assumed he'd be with you and your allies but another has seem to have taken his place." The man asked, nodding towards Draco. That caused the pale-haired boy to let out a snort and give him a sarcastic bow.  
"I'm a free Malfoy now. Literally!" Draco spoke in a high-pitched voice. Hermione pinched him in the arm, scolding him.  
"Ignore Draco, Bellatrix killed Dobby. She killed him at the Manor." Harry replied, watching the man's reaction carefully.

Taken aback slightly, the man paused for a few moments. "How unfortunate. I was very fond of that Elf." Then, he began to gather a few logs and chuck them into the fire. Harry palmed the back of his neck and kneaded it to try and relax. He was so tired of all the unanswered questions that were mocking him.  
"Aberforth. You're Aberforth." Harry then walked over and picked up the twin of the mirror, holding it in his palms he looked back up to Aberforth Dumbledore.  
"I acquired Sirius's mirror from Mundungus about a year ago. I bought it from him. Albus told me what it did and I've been looking out for you. Right now I can see that you look famished. Stay put, I'm going to get some food." The wizard said.

Aberforth excited the room, and once he came back he returned with a large platter of bread, butter and a wide selection of cheeses as well as Meade. It was no five-star meal but it was perfect for the starving teens. They ate quickly, sometimes forgetting to chew in their haste and letting out an occasional cough to clear their throat. Once they had finished their meal, they helped him clear up before they all returned to the table and waited for Aberforth to speak.  
"Where are you going from here?" The wizard asked, curious.  
"Hogwarts. We need to go to Hogwarts, preferably now." Harry said loudly, licking his chapped lips.  
"Are you mad, boy? Are you? You won't make it there alive!" Aberforth laughed.  
"This isn't a joke. Dumbledore needs us to do this. We have to get to the school and-"  
"You're foolish to believe in my brother. He's dead, or have you forgotten that? You'll die too if you don't listen to me. Leave the country, hide! Save yourself!" Aberforth slammed his hands onto the table hard, causing Hermione to jump in her seat in shock and Draco to grip her hand tightly.

"I want you to listen to me. My brother was very good at being secretive. It's what he excels at." Aberforth's gaze moved to the oil painting in the room, letting out long exhale he sat back in his seat. "I can see it from your facial expressions that you believe Dumbledore cared for Harry deeply. I can tell you how wrong you are to believe he cared for anyone. My sister in the painting, Ariana Dumbledore. Six years old and attacked by three Muggle boys. Those three boys had seen her performing magic that she couldn't control. She was only a kid, the same age as when you four discovered you were special. When you were different. They demanded that she do the trick again and when she couldn't, they hurt her and got a bit...carried away." Aberforth's story was shocking to hear and Hermione buried her face into Draco's shoulder, deeply hurt by the words that Aberforth was speaking. Ron and Harry felt sick to their core as they carried on listening.

"What they did, it ruined her. She wasn't the same Ariana ever again. It resulted in her not wanting to ever use her magic. A witch can't just ignore her magic, it exploded out of her in moments and turned on her. She was dangerous. That wasn't who she really was. She was sweet, innocent. She didn't want to hurt anyone." Aberforth's voice darkened, "My father attacked the boys that did that to her. He got locked up in Azkaban for it and he couldn't explain why he did what he had to do. This was because if the Ministry of Magic had any idea what had become of the youngest Dumbledore they would have her locked up faster in a mental ward than you could say 'stupify!'. I was closest to her, Albus never was. She always liked me best. I could calm her down." Sitting back down on the chair, Aberforth looked towards the oil painting and his voice came out pained.

"I wasn't there to calm her down when she was fourteen. She was uncontroleable. My mother was not as quick with her magic as she used to be...my mother was killed. Your professor took the spot as head of the family when I told him I could handle it. I could do it. I would look after her and not care about my education. He disagreed. Told me to stay in school. Albus was actually handling the situation well as anyone could, until Grindelwald came into the picture."

"Grindelwald," Draco said, "It sounds familiar."  
Hermione was quick to explain, "The Chocolate Frog card. Albus Dumbledore is most famous for his 1945 defeat of Grindelwald." Alberforth nodded his head, curling his lip in disgust, he carried on talking. It seemed like it would never end, the story kept getting darker and darker.  
"He was someone Albus could finally talk to, he felt like he had found a talented equal. While the two of them were twittering on about the Hallows, or something along those lines. They forgot about our half-mad sister, left her all alone. They were planning to go somewhere. It made me sick. So I argued with them and told them how they couldn't take her away, she wasn't stable. Grindelwald was not happy with my few choice words for him, he used the Cruciatus Curse on me. Albus tried to diffuse the situation. He failed - we all duelled and it was too much for Ariana to handle. She was trying to help and I don't know which spell was cast by whom that did it, but she died."

Hermione let out a few sobs and Draco rubbed her arm soothingly, he appeared visibly shaken along with Harry and Ron. Aberforth took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.  
"So Grindelwald ran off, and Albus was not tied down by the burden of his sister any longer. He could become the world's greatest wizard that led the wizards out of hiding."

"You are wrong, Aberforth." Harry spoke for the first time in what felt like years, "Dumbledore cared for your sister and you immensely. The guilt was eating away at him every day. I watched him take a potion on the night he died that allowed me to see him in his weakest state. He begged for someone to stop hurting 'them' and to hurt him. I know know that he was talking of the night where your sister died. He wanted to protect you both. I need you to either tell us how we can get to Hogwarts from here. Or we will leave in the morning so the Death Eaters will be less likely to get us."

Aberforth sat in silence for a long time. He was digesting Harry's words, thinking over them clearly. "Very well, . I can show you a way."


	9. Chapter 9

**What's up guys! Laura's back, that's what's up! I want to apologise for my four month gap of not updating. GCSE's have been the biggest pain of my life and I wanted to focus on school (for once in my life lol) and try to get decent grades. Anyway, I'm back :) With the next chapter. It was a total bitch to write and I'll be writing more frequently as I only have 3 exams left *cries with happiness* So here it is, the next chapter of Disregarding Blood. **

* * *

The painting. A figure was coming towards them by Ariania's side. Larger and larger the figures grew in size, until the four teenagers recognised who it was. Limping, smiling through his pain, was none other than Neville Longbottom. The boy looked more haggard and skinnier than they had ever seen him, then the painting swung forwards and he was right in front of them.

"HARRY! Oh Godric, Ron, you too! Hermione! I knew that you guys were al-" Neville trailed off at the sight of Malfoy. Draco huffed in annoyance, was everyone going to react this way to his presence? Draco just raised his eyebrow at the boy, challenging him to say something. Neville looked down at Hermione and his hands interlinked and decided not to comment, a small wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth though.

"Neville, you look terrible, what's been happening to you?" Hermione gasped, observing the yellowing bruise on his eye and the cuts and gashes littering his face.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about. You should see Seamus, now _that _is something to see. You all ready to go?" Neville brushed off their concern, "Aberforth, there are some more people that are going to come this way. They'll be Apparating directly into the bar, please, just let them through the passage." Neville gave the old Wizard a pleading smile. Aberforth nodded, he pointed to the passage way and the teenagers walked through.

"Thank you, Aberforth. You've kept us safe twice now." Harry said, turning towards the wizard. The old wizard stayed silent, giving Harry a knowing look. The door closed. It was dark and damp, the passage way had stone steps, they all started their journey following the lamps that were placed on the earthy walls. Draco curled his lip in disgust at the bugs that scuttled across the floor, the occasional squelch as the bugs would meet their fate of being crushed by their shoes.

"What's Hogwarts like now, Longbottom?" Draco broke the silence, excluding their heavy breathing.

Neville at first, was not sure how to respond. Being addressed by Draco Malfoy, the boy who had teased him mercilessly in school, had not once uttered an insult towards him and spoken to him without a hint of malice in his tone. "Hogwarts. It's not exactly the same any more. The Carrows-"

"Those bastards." Draco grunted, memories of them enjoying taunting him around Voldemort, hitting him with hexes and demeaning him.

"Ah yes, that would be a good way to describe them. Though, It does not really do them justice. The two Death Eaters who teach - aren't exactly teaching us. They are in charge of punishment, way worse than Umbridge ever was. How do you think I got these?" Neville gestured to his battered face, "It's because I've been refusing to.." Neville trailed off.

"Refusing to what?" Ron asked.

"Amycus Carrow - the brother - he teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts. It's just really Dark Arts though. We are supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who have gotten detentions. I refused, and this was my punishment. Some people enjoy it, Crabbe and Goyle love it." Neville and the others watched the way Draco's facial expression became even more sour at his words. Hermione squeezed his hand affectionately, he gave her a small reassuring smile.

"It's been bad, people tortured for acting out. We used to be more risky, writing 'Dumbledore's Army still recruiting' on walls of the castle...but ever since people's relatives started to be threatened, like my Gran. She's on the run by the way - Things started to calm down. We still act out, but after Michael Corner was caught releasing a first-year they chained him up. It scared people. With Ginny's disappearance and Luna's, things seemed to just get worse and worse." Neville said, as they were heading closer towards are turn.

"Blimey," Harry sighed, "Luna's safe by the way - we got her out from her capture."

"I know, we've been communicating with these," Neville showed them the fake Galleons that Dumbledore's Army had used, "Anyway," they turned a corner, "here it is. Hogwarts." The five of them saw the end of the passage. Walking down the stairs, Neville pushed the passage door open first, going through with Harry straight after.

Screams of joy could be heard everywhere. People screaming Harry's name, then Ron's, joy was evident in their voices. The atmosphere of the room was bright and full of hope. "Hermione!" they yelled, happy to see the Gryffindor witch. Then the room was plunged into outrage. Draco Malfoy stepped out after Hermione, his hand still in his, gripping her tightly for support.

"YOU BASTARD!"  
"MURDERER!"  
"WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?"  
"MALFOY?"

Wands were raised at him, their faces scrunched up in anger, shouting words of hate at him. He didn't comment. He stared. He watched the way their eyebrows furrowed in confusion, their lips curled in rage. He embraced it. What could he do? He turned to Hermione, gave her a defeated look and stared back at the chaos in front of him. These people had a right to hate him, he was the cause of their precious Headmaster being taken away. He was a Death Eater, hell, he had the Dark Mark to prove it. He was scum to them. They didn't know how much he had changed, for this girl. This one witch had caused him to doubt everything he had grown up believing in. She made him a better person, it was still his own fault for his previous actions that they couldn't see it before them.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Harry roared over their outrage, immediately silencing them. "Malfoy is a friend, an ally. He's proved his actions are good and he's helped us along the road to defeating You-Know-Who. I know it's hard for you all to believe. But it is what it is. Draco is a converted Death Eater, he's on our side." The people in the room digested his words, choosing only to glare at the Slytherin.

"What's to say he isn't just taking the Coward's way out, like his father, Lucius." Seamus called out, giving Draco a nasty look. Draco's patience was gone. His blood boiled.

"Don't. You. Fucking. Dare. Seamus," His voice getting darker with each word, "mention that man's name ever again. I will personally do the honours of killing him when I see him. I may share the last name as him. But I am nothing like him, I may of wanted to be once, but times have changed."

Seamus had nothing else to say. He was stunned. The room finally recovered from Draco's outburst and was now asking Harry lots of questions at once. Hermione pulled Draco into a long hug and whispered in his ear.

"I'm so proud of you, Draco. I love you." Hermione ignored the curious stares of the other's and just focussed on feeling as close as possible to the wizard as she could. Draco whispered the word's back to her. Finally pulling out of the hug and nudging Potter with his foot, encouraging him to speak up. Harry stayed quiet, thinking of what to say next.

"So, what's the plan?" Neville asked, the whole room was staring at the four expectantly.

"The plan. Well, us four need to find something. That will help us defeat You-Know-Who. So we'll need to get out of here, where are we?" Harry said quickly, glancing at his surroundings and noticing it wasn't the usual Hogwarts dorm room set up.

"What? Harry, we are all Dumbledore's Army. We're supposed to be doing this together. We're in the Room of Requirement. It's our secret base." Neville spoke out, heads nodding around the room, agreeing with his statement. Some 'yeahs!' could be heard being muttered by several people.

"Look," Harry said, trying to think over the searing pain in his scar that was building up, "Dumbledore gave Ron, Hermione and I a task. Draco got pulled in but it wasn't originally our intentions for him to even know. This chain of events has led to now. We need to find this...thing, and fast. I'm sorry, Dumbledore has trusted us not to tell anyone."

Just in that moment, the portrait door opened, and Luna and Dean emerged from the passage way. Sounds of happiness chorused through the room and then it grew even louder as out of the door next came Ginny, Fred, George and Lee Jordan. Ginny smiled at Harry, relieved to see him in one piece. Harry returned the gesture, his cheeks pulling so far into a grin just by seeing her beautiful face. For the first time in a while, he felt content.

"So, what's happening now?" Fred asked the four.

"We're fighting the battle for Hogwarts, isn't it obvious, Fred?" Luna said dreamily, holding her Galleon which had given her the message to come back to Hogwarts. Fred shrugged, accepting what she just said. Harry couldn't help but feel the guilt consume him, he didn't want anyone to get hurt. And yet, here they were; fighting his battles.

Harry coughed loudly, getting everyone's attention. "There is something that we need to find. It is an object that will help in the cause of defeating You-Know-Who. It's here in Hogwarts. The only problem is-"

"We don't know what it is, or where it is." Hermione finished for him. Harry glanced at the confused faces of the room, before continuing.

"Right. Um. Yes. Well, we know that it belongs to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of it? Or seen it? Something with an eagle on it." Harry finished, wiping his hands across his tattered jeans nervously. Luna Lovegood stepped closer towards Harry.

"The lost Diadem," she said, "it belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw." Several people in the room rolled their eyes at Luna, thinking of her as being her 'looney self'.  
"I did tell you about it, Harry. I think that could be it. I can show you the statue that shows what it looks like."

Harry was felt his scar burning, and was pulled into another vision. Voldemort was on the move. They were running out of time, and fast. It was slipping away from them like slick butter, it was putting Harry on constant edge. He took a deep breath before addressing the room. "Listen, all of you. I'm going to go look for this Diadem. Luna let's go. I know it's not much to lead on, but...let's go Luna."

The two of them exited the room, down another secret passage. The room burst into whispers of the upcoming battle and people talking about tactics. Ron stood talking to his siblings, leaving Draco and Hermione to themselves. Draco felt uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what was going to happen next. He did know one thing, he was going to find his father. Once he found him, then the shit would as the muggles say, hit the fan. Hermione had used that expression more than a few times.

"You know what I want?" Hermione asked Draco. He waited for her to continue, "A kiss." Draco frowned. He wasn't embarrassed of her, but he wasn't prepared to have his ear drums explode with the disgust of her fellow friends and students.

"Right now?" Draco said, brushing a hand through her curls. Tugging one of them and marvelling at the way it bounced back into shape. Hermione nodded, licking her lips. How could Draco refuse such a wonderful request. He connected their lips and kissed her deeply. For all they knew, this could be their last day on earth and he wanted to make it last. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. She could loose it all, she could loose him. Draco was like fire. He had such rage that burned deep within him, but he kept her warm. He made her feel alive, if he ever was to burn out. So would her hope. If he died, he would leave smoke, smoke that would linger with her forever. She was certain she would never be able to get over him. Their relationship was far too connected for the bonds to simply break and not leave scars.

She kissed him because she loved him. She kissed him because she couldn't do this without him. She poured everything she felt into that one kiss. It was one of the most breath-taking ones she had ever had with him. So full of desperation, fear and despair for what was about to occur. Draco could feel the eyes burning into their embrace. He couldn't give any fucks at that given moment. All he cared about was Hermione, living, breathing, full of warmth. He could feel her body melting into his he was holding her so tightly. He was first to pull away, he rested his head on her shoulder and just held her close.

"We are going to have to split up." Draco whispered roughly into her neck.

"I know, Draco. I know." Hermione replied sadly.

* * *

**There we have it. Thanks so much for the reviews, favourite and follows. Keep them coming :) I enjoy hearing your feedback. I also want to say, that I have a one-shot that I wrote yesterday. It's an Iron Man one, obviously a Pepper and Tony with the Avengers :) So feel free to check that out as well. See you soon. **

**Laura x**


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